Kathy Hosler opened her shop in 1971 when she was just nineteen years old. She has built a terrific business and is still actively grooming today. Kathy is also a feature writer for Groomer To Groomer and Pet Boarding & Daycare Magazines, and has been nominated twice for the Barkleigh Honors Journalist of the Year Award as well as a Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award for Grooming Journalist.
Something to Smile About
As a groomer, you may not think that you play an important role in the oral health of the pets that you groom, but you can – and you should. Studies show that by the age of three, seventy percent of dogs and cats begin to show signs of periodontal disease.
When groomer Paulette Tuunanum, owner/operator of Creature Comforts, began work that fateful morning she never envisioned the horror that awaited her. Creature Comforts is a home-based grooming salon in the quiet, rural community of Fryeburg, Maine.
“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you won’t do anything with it,” says M. Scott Peck the author of The Road Less Traveled.
Chocolate and puppies…What groomer wouldn’t want to spend a weekend surrounded by chocolate and puppies? But that was just the tip of the iceberg of what was in store for the more than 5,000 people who attended Groom Expo this year in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which took place September 18th — 21st.
An Eye Opening Situation
A product that you may have on your retail shelves right now could be in the middle of a big controversy. Epiphora, excessive tear production in pets, often results in unsightly and sometimes smelly brownish-red staining around pet’s eyes.
Little Sammy Jo was one of my favorites, and I had been grooming her since she was a puppy. When she came in ‘that day’ I felt marble-like lumps in her throat area that were never there before.
Presidents Day is a holiday for a lot of people, but not for mobile groomer Brandon Boyer. For the last ten years Brandon has owned and operated Splish N Splash Mobile Pet Grooming in the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania area.
Grooming is a really labor-intensive career, and bathing the pets is one of the most time-consuming parts, yet bathing is an incredibly important part of the grooming process. You can’t get a great groom if you don’t start with a thorough deep-cleaning bath.
You are what you eat. We all know that phrase, and it’s just as true for pets as it is for people. Every day in our salons, we see pets that obviously need help in the dietary department—the obese, the ones with skin issues and poor coats.
We have all heard the saying, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes,” and you may agree. If you make your living in the pet care industry, you can add one more thing to that list: dirty laundry. Towels, cage pads, pet beds, blankets, etc. You can’t get away from it.
We groomers have a real soft spot for an underdog. Just walk into any of our country’s animal shelters and you will see that they are overflowing with the unwanted, unloved, and neglected—shelters full of underdogs. That’s why countless groomers already donate their time and grooming services to help them.
“I’m still on cloud nine,” says an ecstatic Adriane Pope breathlessly. “It was the most amazing day of my entire life!”
What Adriane is referring to is the day she won the coveted Peoples Choice Award at the 2013 Creative Styling Competition at Groom Expo.